REVIEW: Against the Ropes by Jeanette Murray

Against the Ropes by Jeanette Murray: Reagan dons her suits and sky-high heels as armor to make up for her inexperience on the job. She’s determined to make her first job out of college a success, even if it means getting the Marine’s on the boxing team to cooperate with her PR efforts. With college loans and a family who never saw a reason to leave their small town, she really feels the pressure that failure just isn’t an option.

Greg has quite the past and chose the military when he was out of options. He originally tried out for the boxing team as something to do, but now he’s committed to staying with the team and doing his best. He’s fascinated by Reagan and her uber professional image, which just makes him want to get under her skin and loosen her up.

“Date.”
“This dinner-”
“Date,” he said more firmly. “Can you just call it what it is?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t recall you asking me on a date. I remember being bamboozled into coming out in order to get my job done.”

While Reagan is attracted to the sexy boxer, she doesn’t want to cross that line between business and pleasure with everything that is already going on with the boxing team. She does need to wind down and relax, and Greg’s determined pursuit provides just that opportunity.

Reagan has good plans on how to gain some positive PR for the team and combat the negative image of the military and boxing, but Greg is very reticent to speak at all of his past. But Greg will use Reagan’s desire for information as a way to keep her around. Greg knows exactly what he wants with Reagan, so he’s determined to take their relationship slowly.

One minute he was upright, and then the next, he wasn’t.
Greg blinked and stared up at Reagan’s shocked face, only upside down. Her mouth gaped open, and she slapped a hand over it to hide a laugh. “Sorry, I wanted to finish my sentence before I answered the door. Didn’t realize you were using it to prop yourself up.”

Against the Ropes is a sexy sports romance with two intriguing main characters who needed someone in their corner. Jeanette Murray created an entertaining story with plenty of heat and the mystery behind the vandalism. Ms. Murray also provided really interesting secondary characters in the other boxers and those associated with the team. Against the Ropes can be read as a standalone in the series, but there are parts of the storyline that do continue from Below the Belt (book 1). Fans of Katy Evans and Sarah Castille will enjoy Against the Ropes!

Book Info:

Publication: October 6th 2015 | Berkley | First to Fight #2

The author of Below the Belt continues her First to Fight series with a novel of one Marine’s battle to come out on top—in life and love…

As a troubled teen, Gregory Higgs channeled his energy into boxing instead of breaking the law. The ring gave him purpose and something to strive for. So did the Marines. Combining the two seemed like a natural fit.

Another natural fit? Reagan Robilard, the sweet athlete liaison who keeps all the fighters out of trouble and manages their PR—a job that gets more challenging when someone digs up the truth about Greg’s not-so-shiny past after equipment is vandalized at the gym.

Even if it wasn’t her job, Reagan can’t let Greg take the fall. Because passion doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to matters of the heart…